True Places
by The Musician Of The Night
Summary: one-shot: If Inuyasha and Kagome were destened to be together, that bumps two people right out of the picture. But when those two plan together to get their loved ones back, the question arises: were their true places REALLY with inuyasha and kagome? ki


True Places

I stood in the trees at the edge of a clearing. It was late evening, almost sunset. A warm breeze rustled the grass, but I did not feel it. My attention was fixed on the two figures in the clearing. Suddenly I felt a demonic presence with Shikon shards nearby. I whirled around, drawing my bow at the same time. Several meters away from me a wolf demon stepped out of the trees. He had shards on both of his legs, but the shards were pure. _So he's not of Naraku_. I thought. He presented no danger to me at the moment. I turned my attention back to the figures in the clearing.

"Kagome." Inuyasha whispered. "Inuyasha." Kagome whispered back. I sighed. If this was all they were going to do all night. . . Inuyasha spoke again. "I've realized something, Kagome. Well, not realized. I guess I've known it all along. I. . . Made a decision. I think you should know about it, because it concerns you." I held my breath. This was what I had come to hear. "I've realized that whatever my feelings for Kikyo might have been, they don't compare to the feelings I have for you. I. . . I think I love you, Kagome." I watched, sickened, as Inuyasha reached out tentatively toward Kagome. He had just said what I had always wished he had been brave enough to say to me. Kagome reached toward him, and they fell into each others arms. I barely heard Kagome whisper, "I love you too, Inuyasha."

I glared at the woman who was embracing Inuyasha. I would have killed her, but it would have killed _me_ to cause Inuyasha that much pain. Except for the fact that I was already dead. I drew my bow and concentrated on the patch of white that was the woman who had stolen my soul, and my place at Inuyasha's side. "Die." I whispered as I released the arrow.

Then a shape darted in front of me. It was the wolf demon. He caught the arrow neatly and leapt to my side. He placed a hand over my mouth, telling me to be quiet. Then he turned back to the figures, who were now walking away. As soon as they were out of hearing distance, the wolf removed his hand from covering my mouth. "Why did you stop me from killing her?" I asked. "I love her." Was the response.

It was the last thing I had expected. "You. . . Love Kagome?" I asked. Then I summoned my soul stealers. By the light of the souls they carried I could see clearly. Now that I looked at him, I saw that he did indeed look terribly sad. "Yes. I love Kagome. I always knew she favored dog-boy, but I had hoped that she might grow to love me. Now I see that there is no chance of that. Why did you try to kill her?" I saw no reason to lie. After all, he had been honest with me. "I love Inuyasha." I said. "He loved me too, once. Now he has given me up for that girl. I could not bare to see him with another." The wolf frowned. "You do not care about what happens to her, or if she's hurt?" He asked. I shook my head. It didn't matter what happened to Kagome. "Then I will go take my woman away from dog-boy. He doesn't deserve her. You should like that. Then dog-boy will be all alone and you can claim him." The wolf turned to leave.

"Wait." I said. "Do not harm Inuyasha." The wolf smirked. "And if I do?" I drew an arrow and put it on my bow. "I have no problem killing you. I'd even get a couple of shards out of the bargain. Then Inuyasha would eventually have to come to me if he wanted to complete the jewel." I smiled slightly at the idea. "You can see the shards?" The wolf was surprised, but he quickly pretended he wasn't interested. "Why don't you just come with me and claim dog-boy as soon as Kagome's gone. You can stop me from hurting him at the same time." The wolf said. I figured that he thought that he could get there faster that I could. That seemed to be why he had the shards on his legs, to make him faster. "I will." I said. "See you, then." He said, and he was off, so fast that I couldn't tell where he went.

I called my soul stealers around me, and they carried me toward Inuyasha. I found him in the clearing with the sacred tree. He was leaning up against it, staring up at the sunset, while Kagome stood in front of him and talked. Funny. I would have thought that Inuyasha would have had enough of this tree. I crept closer, and I was able to hear what Kagome was saying. "My father proposed to my mother under this tree in my time. My mom says that it has magic properties that encourage love." I stopped listening. I had seen a movement on the other side of the clearing. It was the wolf. He crept up right behind the sacred tree. I was amazed that neither Inuyasha or Kagome could sense his presence, but they seemed only to notice each other.

Then the wolf leapt forward. He grabbed Kagome around the waste, and carried her away. All that was left was a cloud of dust. "Kagome!" Inuyasha cried. He stood and was about to go after the wolf, when I ordered my soul stealer. "Inuyasha!" I cried. It got his attention just long enough for the soul stealer to claim his soul. "Why, Inuyasha?" I asked. He struggled against the soul stealer, but he was weakening. More of his soul was being held. "Why did you abandon me?" I asked. Inuyasha went limp. Now he was under my control. He looked at me, confused. "Kikyo." He said. "Why do you love Kagome and not me?" I asked. "Kagome is alive. We could never be happy together. You should be dead."

I winced. He was telling the truth, however. We couldn't live together. Not with the way I was now. Long as his life might be, he would die and I wouldn't age. I would live forever after he was gone. But it was worth it. "You love me." I whispered to him. "Only me. You hate Kagome." I put all of my hatred into his soul, turning it against Kagome. "You love me!" I said again. It was easier because he had once loved me, and that feeling was still in his soul. "I. . . I love you." He said. "Yes. You love me." I whispered to him once more. It was almost complete. All he had to do was say my name, and he would be mine forever. "Who do you love, Inuyasha?" I asked.

"I love. . ." He trailed off. Then he shook his head. "I love. . ." He blinked. His eyes were clearing. My soul stealer hissed and wrapped itself tighter around him. He looked down at it, and then up at me. "What? What are you doing to me? Where's Kagome!" He cried. I screamed. All the hatred poured back into me. It hadn't worked. He had said Kagome's name before mine. "Kagome!" He shouted, and he ran off into the forest. I struggled over to the sacred tree, and leaned against it. It took a while before I caught my breath. He would hate me now. I leaned back into the tree, trying not to cry.

I didn't even know if this broken body would shed tears. My soul stealers hovered around me, bringing new souls for me. I looked away, I didn't want them. I had no reason to live anymore. I sat and leaned back against the tree waving away the souls my soul stealers had brought. I would be unable to move by morning and then I could die. I looked up into the branches. The wind rustled them and I almost thought I heard someone whispering. I closed my eyes.

Late that night, I woke up. I saw a shape bending over me. I squinted up, but it was too dark to see who it was. Then the person turned away. In that moment, I saw who it was, and I knew that there was one person in the world who still might love me.

I woke in the morning, and saw the bright sunlight streaming down through the branches of the sacred tree. I tried to move, but I was unable to. My souls had almost all left. I summoned the soul stealers, but they didn't like sunlight, and it took all I had to encourage one of them to bring me a soul. As soon as I had it, I felt better. I stumbled into the forest where it was darker, and the soul stealers would come. They swooped around me, and I gladly took the souls they offered. Then I sat down and waited for night, when my soul stealers could carry me. I had to find him. It was the only thing I had left to try.

As I flew above the world I watched carefully below me. Once I thought I saw a flash of red, and I quickly directed my soul stealers in the opposite direction. Finally I saw what I was looking for. A lone figure in a forest, running so fast he was almost a blur. I had my soul stealers put me down and then I waited for him. When he saw me he screeched to a stop. "K-Kagome?" He asked. I stepped into the light. "Miko. What do you want?" He said. I looked around. "Where's Kagome?" I asked.

"I let her go. She would have starved herself if she had stayed with me. I wouldn't want her to be dead. I'd rather have her alive, even if she's with dogboy. Where is dog-boy, anyway? He wasn't at the well where I left Kagome." I looked down. "He went to find her." I said. "Wolf-"

"Kouga." He interrupted.

"Kouga." I whispered. "I'm Kikyo." I said. He moved closer to me. "Yes, Kikyo?" I paused. "Do you think that our places were really with Inuyasha and Kagome?" I asked. "You can't argue with true love." He stated. "I think that when we tried to make them ours, that's what we were doing." I nodded. He was right. "Kouga. Do you think that our true places. . . Might. . . Be with each other?" I whispered. "You can't argue with true love, Kikyo." He said, and I knew that I had found my place in the world at last.

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A/N: well, it is a short kind of weird story. That ending…I just don't really like it… 


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